Cancer drug helps save vision

NEW YORK -- A U.S. study says patients with radiation retinopathy can keep their eyesight longer by using the cancer drug Avastin.

A two-year study, published in the current issue of the journal Archives of Ophthalmology, found that Avastin reduces abnormal blood vessel growth and stops leakage in the eye, to allow patients who were destined to go blind within five years to retain their vision longer.
"This is a major breakthrough for eye cancer patients who are treated with radiation therapy and commonly develop radiation retinopathy," Dr. Paul T. Finger, lead author of the study and director of Ocular Tumor Services at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, said Friday in a release.
Finger said he has treated 28 patients successfully with Avastin.
He said that before the Avastin findings, there was no effective treatment for macular radiation retinopathy.

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